Ottawa County tornado warning issued at 8:43 p.m. — Wood Tv 8

wood tv 8 reported a tornado warning for Ottawa County at 8:43 p.m. Thursday as severe weather moved through West Michigan. The warning came while Ottawa County also remained under a severe thunderstorm warning until 9:45 p.m.

West Michigan Counties

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for several West Michigan counties Thursday evening, keeping the broader area under alert until 2:05 a.m. Allegan County, Muskegon County and Ottawa County were under severe thunderstorm warnings until 9:45 p.m., placing the same county in both alerts during the same stretch of storm activity.

Ottawa County Alert

The 8:43 p.m. tornado warning changed the situation for Ottawa County from watch status to a more immediate warning. That sequence matters because the county was already listed in the severe thunderstorm warning, and now it sat inside the tornado warning area as well.

For readers in Ottawa County, the practical step is to treat the warning as the highest alert named in the facts and follow the instructions tied to that warning until the weather service changes the advisory. The broader West Michigan watch stays in place until 2:05 a.m., so other counties in the region remain under notice even after the 9:45 p.m. severe thunderstorm warnings end.